Walker’s grandfather, William Walker Sr., spoke out Wednesday, saying his grandson is innocent.

“I know he didn’t do it,” he said. “(Holden) says he shook her five times, but if she saw that why … didn’t she report it and take it to the hospital?”

Hospital visit sparks investigation

Mount Holly Police Officer W.D. Terry began an investigation on July 9 when a Gaston County social worker contacted police about the infant’s injuries.

According to William Walker Sr., another family member noticed the injuries to the infant and took her to the hospital.

The parents claimed the little girl fell off the couch and onto a hardwood floor on July 4, investigators reported.

Arrest records detail a longer and more severe string of injuries. According to the reports, social workers and health officials say the injuries occurred over a period of time, and some went untreated.

Terry’s investigation led him to nurse Lynne Myers, the child maltreatment coordinator at Levine Children’s Hospital.

“Myers advised that these injuries did not occur as the parents stated that they did,” Terry wrote in police documents.

Along with the broken bones, the infant suffered swelling and bruising behind both ears and bleeding in her retinas. The infant’s leg was also broken in two places.

Medical officials say the injuries to her legs are consistent with someone jerking or shaking the child by the leg, according to a police report.

The infant’s injuries to her elbow and forearm appeared to be from blunt force trauma and happened on two separate occasions, Terry wrote in the report.

Medical officials told him the injuries to the infant’s elbow and forearm could not have happened any longer than five days before she was examined.

Likewise, the infant’s collarbone had already started to heal, confirming that it, too, was broken on a separate occasion, according to the police report.

“The child also had a fractured skull, which would not have occurred by simply rolling off of the couch,” Terry wrote.

Arrest records list the offenses as happening from May 9, a day after the child was born, to July.

Parents continued to blame the child’s injuries on an accident, Terry wrote in a warrant affidavit.

Since the first interview with police, the parents have refused to talk to police or explain the injuries, according to arrest records.

Police allege the abuse occurred at the couple’s home on 407 Pine St. in Mount Holly.

Holden was charged with child abuse on Friday and released a short time later on a $50,000 bond. Walker was arrested Tuesday and given a $150,000 bond.

District Court Judge James Jackson upheld that bond Wednesday afternoon.

Father, great-grandfather insist on innocence

William Walker Jr. spoke to the judge during his first appearance in court Wednesday afternoon.

The 25-year-old father grew emotional, claiming he was innocent and that what police were told wasn’t true.

“I would never on this earth hurt my daughter,” he said. “I’m just so tore up about it … I am being punished for nothing.”

The parents told police that the infant was only in the couple’s custody and did not attend a day care or stay with any family members or friends, according to arrest records.

According to William Walker Sr., the child was almost entirely in her mother’s care.

William Walker Jr. works in Lake Wylie, according to his grandfather.

“He’s always on the road, from where he lived to work and back,” William Walker Sr. said.

He also said his grandson is willing to do anything to prove his innocence, including taking a lie detector test.

According to family members, the baby is recovering and out of the hospital.

The child is now in the custody of the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services.

Whether the child will be returned to the parents or they are allowed to see her will be up to social workers, said Mount Holly Police Chief Don Roper.

One of the Walkers’ family members said she is seeking custody of the child.

Regardless, child abuse cases are among the worst to work, Roper said.

“I’ve been involved in the investigations of child abuse before and they’re all bad. Whenever there’s a victim you feel for the victim, but especially when it’s a child it makes it even worse,” he said.

You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.